Play ball! San Rafael City Council OKs new Pacifics lease

The San Rafael City Council Monday voted unanimously to approve a new agreement for the San Rafael Pacifics to play at Albert Park.

A vociferous crowd of about 30 people that showed up at the meeting greeted the decision with applause.

The new proposed lease has the same basic elements as the earlier lease, but it would last three years instead of one and has 15 new components, many in response to comments and suggestions from those living in the neighborhood.

The Pacifics, an independent minor league baseball team, played 42 games at Albert Park this year, selling more than 32,000 tickets for the season running from June 4 to Aug. 26.

The atmosphere was genial and laughter often rang out during the public comment section, and though speakers had suggestions and complaints, almost every one of them supported the Pacifics.

"I like baseball and I want the Pacifics to succeed, but I was almost hit by a baseball from the park," said Maggie Rufo, a volunteer at WildCare, a wildlife facility nearby. "The ball smashed into the back of the (WildCare) building. I was holding a falcon at the time, and if the ball had struck the bird, it would have killed him."

Rufo conferred with the team's owners after speaking at the meeting about ways to avoid stray balls flying out of the park.

"One of the concerns is around banners advertising alcohol," said Mark Dale of the San Rafael Community Coalition. "Surely, we could restrict banners advertising alcohol." Dale did not oppose renewing the lease, he said.

Many speakers were unabashed supporters of the Pacifics.

"We hope the Pacifics will play next year," said Megan Kuykendall of San Rafael, who brought her children, William and Emma, to the meeting. "We are season ticketholders and had a great time."

With all expenses accounted for, the Pacifics pulled in $10,223.75 net income for the city. The team's gross income was $33,924, according to a city staff report.

The salary of a maintenance worker and other upkeep were the major costs.

The new lease would run through 2015 and would continue the team's 42-game schedule, not counting practice time and including a playoff tournament over Labor Day weekend.

The first season of the Pacifics was watched over by a city advisory committee that included three neighborhood residents. A report from this committee noted that then-owners Centerfield and the city responded to the committee's concerns about jaywalking by putting barricades on the west side of Andersen Drive during the 2012 season.

"The barricades discouraged patrons from crossing on the curve of the road, where there is less visibility to on-coming traffic. This measure reduced, but did not eliminate, all pedestrian crossings in mid-block," the report said.

Under the new lease, the new owners would work with the city's traffic engineer to craft a pedestrian-safety strategy to reduce jaywalking on Andersen as people walk to and from the games.

In the interests of reducing noise, the owners would replace the current public address system and reduce any noise outside the park.

The advisory committee report said decibel readings were well within the requirements of the city noise element and "within the target range for the use."

The city, however, received eight complaints for excessive noise during the season.

The Pacifics agreed to lower the volume after a July 16 meeting and no more complaints came in, according to the report.